Cost of living comparison

 Costa Rica
compared to
 Cartago, Costa Rica
Cartago vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Cartago is 8.1% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants
pay 13.4% less in Cartago
Groceries
pay 23.1% less in Cartago
Transportation
pay 9.9% more in Cartago
Housing
pay 32.2% less in Cartago
Childcare
pay 6.7% more in Cartago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.3% less in Cartago
Clothing
pay 8.7% more in Cartago

The cost of transportation, clothing, and childcare in Cartago are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Expenses including housing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Cartago.

Cartago vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cartago instead of Costa Rica, you would:

pay 13.4% less for restaurants

 
Costa Rica
Cartago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.75
CRC4,959.77
$7.77
CRC3,955.53
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.08
CRC4,620.91
$8.26
CRC4,202.75
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.01
CRC1,023.05
$1.78
CRC906.48

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pay 23.1% less for groceries

 
Costa Rica
Cartago
Bread
1 loaf
$2.53
CRC1,288.45
$2.13
CRC1,084.48
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.76
CRC1,914.59
$1.46
CRC741.66
Milk (1 gallon) $6.98
CRC3,549.55
$7.23
CRC3,676.61

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pay 9.9% more for transportation

 
Costa Rica
Cartago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.63
CRC2,863.20
$5.46
CRC2,780.36
Monthly public transit pass $49.00
CRC24,932.12
$68.23
CRC34,718.40
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,063.37
CRC17,841,283.35
$36,925.49
CRC18,788,782.18

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pay 32.2% less for housing

 
Costa Rica
Cartago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.50
CRC24,678.46
$44.70
CRC22,744.32
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $778.04
CRC395,888.64
$427.56
CRC217,554.32
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $547.50
CRC278,585.92
$369.25
CRC187,887.82

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pay 6.7% more for childcare

 
Costa Rica
Cartago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $519.07
CRC264,116.97
$521.49
CRC265,350.34
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,987.74
CRC5,590,889.57
$12,409.58
CRC6,314,364.30

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pay 13.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Costa Rica
Cartago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.73
CRC1,387.66
$2.43
CRC1,236.10
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.65
CRC1,859.39
$3.50
CRC1,779.99
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.58
CRC2,331.61
$5.05
CRC2,571.10

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pay 8.7% more for clothing

 
Costa Rica
Cartago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.32
CRC33,238.61
$73.45
CRC37,374.42
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.54
CRC22,663.45
$50.76
CRC25,827.48
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.39
CRC56,167.43
$97.17
CRC49,444.16

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: May 2025
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